Padma Bridge clear of congestion on the last day of Eid travel

People from 21 districts in southern Bangladesh are returning home via the Padma Bridge in the final rush before Eid-ul-Fitr. However, the toll plaza at Mawa in Munshiganj remains largely free of congestion, sometimes even seeming completely empty.

Altaf Hossain, director of the Bangladesh Bridge Authority, said that due to the long holiday, there has been relatively less congestion this year.

"There was a long queue of vehicles at the toll plaza early on Sunday morning, but the pressure has eased as the day progressed," he noted.

On Saturday, a total of 36,924 vehicles crossed the Padma bridge, including 8,750 motorcycles, generating Tk 407.92 million in toll revenue.

Over the five days of Eid travel till Saturday, 152,327 vehicles used the bridge, contributing Tk 1.74 billion in tolls.

Those involved in toll collection said that many working professionals and businesspeople are heading home with their families at the last moment, hoping that Eid will fall on Monday. To accommodate them, an additional temporary toll booth was kept operational on Sunday, with nine lanes actively collecting tolls.

However, many travellers opted to leave just after Sehri to avoid the heat and traffic. As a result, while there was some congestion in the morning, traffic eased later in the day.

A similar situation was observed on another major highway - the Dhaka-Chattogram route. As of Sunday morning, the 13-kilometre stretch of the highway in Gazaria, Munshiganj, remained free of traffic jams.